A fugitive gains fame in New Orleans eluding dart guns and netsThe end of the year is the perfect time to reflect on your portfolio. But sometimes, that can lead to anxiety if there is a rift between where your portfolio is and where you want it to be. Instead of trying to trade your way out of discomfort, a better approach is to engage in exercises that can help set the stage for compounding your wealth over time. Are You Missing The Morning Scoop? Breakfast News delivers it all in a quick, Foolish, and free daily newsletter. Sign Up For Free » Here are investment portfolio actions worth taking before the end of the year. Conduct a portfolio review Investing in the art of putting capital to work in quality companies, identifying risks that can derail an investment thesis, and sticking with winning companies over time -- these are all part of a portfolio review. Having an investment thesis for each asset you own is paramount. Some can be short, whereas others can be long. But it's essential to know what a company does, what it is trying to do, and why you believe it is worth putting your hard-earned money into. You can also make investment theses for companies you don't own but are high on your watchlist so that you can have the conviction to buy them when it makes sense for you to do so. As an example, here's the essence of my investment thesis on Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) : Microsoft is an industry-leading company with exposure to several end markets. It has evolved from mediocre sales growth and weak margins to a high-margin cash cow -- largely thanks to the build-out of Microsoft Cloud and product upgrades of existing software. Microsoft is monetizing artificial intelligence (AI) throughout its product suite, from Microsoft 365 to GitHub, Azure, and more. The company is well diversified across hardware and software. It owns LinkedIn and has a powerful place in gaming with Xbox and Activision Blizzard. Microsoft generates plenty of excess earnings to pay a growing dividend and repurchase more than enough stock to offset stock-based compensation, which grows earnings per share by decreasing the outstanding share count and making Microsoft a better value. Because Microsoft has more cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities than debt on its balance sheet, it is well positioned to endure an industrywide downturn and even take market share or make timely acquisitions. Microsoft's 36.1 price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is above its historical levels, putting pressure on the company to deliver outsized growth or risk facing a sell-off. But long term, Microsoft has plenty of levers to pull for growing earnings, making it worth holding even if the stock price goes down in the near term. Aligning allocation with risk tolerance Another mistake investors can make is losing sight of their portfolio allocation. Technically, a portfolio's allocation changes anytime the market is open with movements in stock prices. But the bigger picture is to identify when there is a substantial change in your portfolio. For example, let's say you invested 10% of a $10,000 portfolio in Nvidia and 10% into Meta Platforms a year ago. Nvidia is up 218.9% during that period, while Meta is up 91.8%. Let's assume the other 80% of the portfolio performed in lockstep with the S&P 500 and is up 33.2% during that period.Here's a look at how that hypothetical portfolio would change in just one year. Holding Starting Value Percentage of Portfolio Gain New Value New Percentage of Portfolio Nvidia $1,000 10% 218.9% $3,189 20.2% Meta Platforms $1,000 10% 91.8% $1,918 12.2% S&P 500 $8,000 80% 33.2% $10,656 67.6% Nvidia now makes up around 20% of the portfolio instead of 10%. And even though the Meta investment nearly doubled, its percentage of the portfolio actually didn't change that much because it was offset by outsized gains from Nvidia and good gains from the S&P 500. If you look at how your allocation has evolved and are ok with it, then you may not need to do anything. But you could also find you are way more allocated toward a certain company, theme, or sector than you thought. The knee-jerk reaction may be to sell out of those winners and rebalance into other names. But that strategy can result in regret if you sell a stock just because it went up. It's better to have a clear reason for selling a stock. The best approach for addressing an uncomfortable allocation is to put new capital to work into other high-conviction areas. For example, if someone felt their portfolio is too concentrated in megacap, tech-focused growth companies, they could consider investing in safe dividend stocks, growth companies from other sectors, or a diversified exchange-traded fund (ETF) like the Vanguard Mega Cap Value ETF . Suppose you are in the capital-preservation phase of your financial journey and no longer regularly putting new capital to work in the market. In that case, you may need to take the necessary actions to balance risk and potential reward by investing in companies that are valued based on what they are doing today rather than their potential growth. The next lesson applies to investors in the capital-accumulation phase, so if you're in the preservation stage, feel free to skip it. Set savings and investment goals for 2025 It is just as important to set clear savings goals for 2025 as it is to update your watchlist of stocks you want to buy. Simple math shows us that it is far better to be a great saver and a mediocre investor than a bad saver and an exceptional investor. As an example, let's say two people start with $20,000 and have a 10-year time horizon. Person A earns an average annual return of 10% a year and additionally saves $5,000 per year that goes into the same investment portfolio. At the end of the 10-year period, they end up with a tidy sum of $131,561.97. Person B achieves 20% average annual returns but doesn't contribute any savings. Despite returns that rival Warren Buffett's average from 1965 to 2023, they would end up with $123,834.73 after the 10-year period for the same $20,000 originally invested. It's still highly impressive, but if they would have also saved $5,000 per year, they would end up with over $253,000 at the end of the 10-year period. Position yourself to endure the unexpected Instead of getting caught up in speculating what the stock market will do in 2025, it is a far better use of time and energy to review what you can control: your investments and savings habits. Having a firm grip on these factors makes it far easier to filter out the noise and focus on achieving your financial goals. This can be especially helpful when the market is going down and volatility is high. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor’s total average return is 939% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 179% for the S&P 500.* They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of December 2, 2024 Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . 3 Portfolio Moves Stock Market Investors Should Make Before the End of the Year was originally published by The Motley Fool
Embiid returns, says knee issues 'depressing'Zimbabwean rapper Holy Ten has intensified his beef with controversial businessman and “tenderpreneur” Wicknell Chivayo, accusing him of attempting to buy his support with an insulting offer. The conflict centers around Chivayo’s proposition to gift Holy Ten a luxury car in exchange for backing the ruling party during the last Zimbabwean elections. However, Holy Ten rejected the offer, calling it deeply offensive. “I support the president, but I don’t support the president so that I get a GLE,” Holy Ten stated. “The fact that you are even telling me you wanted to buy me a GLE is insulting. If someone wants to buy me a car, they need to start at the G-Wagon.” Holy Ten’s remarks come amid his growing frustration with Chivayo, a businessman known for his close ties to the government. Chivayo’s offer of a Mercedes-Benz GLE was seen by the rapper as an attempt to secure his political allegiance, but Holy Ten has made it clear that he is not interested in such materialistic gestures. The exchange highlights the ongoing tensions surrounding wealth, power, and political influence in Zimbabwe, with Holy Ten pushing back against attempts to buy his loyalty. His comments also reflect his stance on authenticity and integrity, making it clear that his support cannot be bought. “I’m not someone who is swayed by material things,” Holy Ten emphasized. “If you want my support, it should come from a place of true understanding, not just because you can offer me a car.” This clash between Holy Ten and Chivayo has sparked further debate about the intersection of politics and celebrity culture in Zimbabwe, with many watching closely to see how the feud unfolds. By A CorrespondentIn early September the foreign press made a big fuss because President Maduro “brought Christmas forward” to October 1st. In truth, this is something the Venezuelan leader had done before, nearly always as an effective strategy to cool down political, economic and social tensions. Press buzz aside, the measure is welcomed by retailers who could seamlessly move from their Halloween decorations to Christmas trees and glittered ornaments. It also generated an incentive for people to buy things “ahead of time,” “before the December price hike,” etc. But beyond that, the truth is that in Venezuela Christmas is felt way before December 24. In fact, our country is a living example of a famous slogan created by a Colombian radio station: “Since September it feels like December is around the corner.” Venezuelans have the holidays on their minds during the last trimester, and they start planning the most important gastronomic traditions: , ham bread and chicken salad. The is the main event, with its long preparation often becoming an opportunity for families to gather and catch up. There are many theories concerning its origin. One says that it was created from the scraps that the elites gave to their slaves during colonial times. Another is that it takes on a Spanish pie but made out of corn flour due to the shortage of wheat. But the theory I like the most – with solid bibliography to back it up – says that the can be traced back hundreds of years, to pre-Hispanic times, when Indigenous peoples prepared a corn dough wrapped in its own leaves and cooked in clay pots. Now, the stew that fills the does have a lot to do with the Spaniards, and it was later adapted and perfected. So a deconstructed has pre-colonial elements: corn and (achiote). As for the elements that came from the Iberian peninsula, some of them are clearly Spanish: onion, garlic, beef, pork, sugar cane and wine. But the rest, like olives, capers, raisins and almonds is actually inherited from the Moorish presence in Iberia for hundreds of years. All things considered, the hallaca is synonymous with Venezuela’s (mixing). It involved a brutal colonization, which shapes us to this day, but the traditions were adopted and molded by the people, with variants in different regions. The final result has a glorious balance between savory, sweet, acid and bitter. Not just that, have a perfect sidekick in ham bread ( ). The recipe was created in 1905 in a central Caracas bakery called Ramella. Its sole goal was to make use of leftover ham. How Venezuelan is that? We’re a country that always finds a workaround, making use of all scraps, itself as many times as it takes. As Venezuelan culinary editor Miró Popic points out, “ham bread was born before the discovery of oil, in a poor, austere country, where one day of Christmas tried to make up for 364 days of hardship.” And history can be cyclical. Still, during the worst economic crisis of the Fourth Republic (1958-1999) and the tough years of economic siege we’ve lived through, with 2016 and 2017 having been especially terrible, Venezuela held firm to its legitimate right to celebrate the holiday season. Rightly so, because our traditions are unique and full of life. The most traditional music genre is the , a popular rhythm from western Zulia state which bears African, Spanish and possibly Berber influences. In fact, the very name originally referred to , an Arab flute. This genre is furthermore traced back to slaves’ protest chants against their masters. Plantation owners granted their slaves a single day a year to hold their festivities. That meant a grand party, during which the enslaved peoples also voiced their discontent with all the oppression around them, not just from slave masters but also the Church. “Why has God abandoned us?” they asked. As a result, as time went on, became an instrument for popular classes to express their hopes and frustrations. There are plenty of songs denouncing inequality in cities like Maracaibo, where the oil riches and the poverty of the majority have always stood in stark contrast. This political facet of has remained heavily present to this day. When I was a little girl, before Hugo Chávez arrived in power, there was a that radio stations played all the time. “ ” by the Gran Coquivacoa group was a theme criticizing the government led by Social Christian Rafael Caldera, who held the presidency twice (1969-1974 and 1994-1999). Apart from the political songs, I have two favorite that are quite bittersweet. One is “ ” by Ricardo Cepeda: The other one is “ ” by Argenis Carruyo: Apart from , there are other synonymous with the holidays, with a stronger presence of religious themes. Aguinaldos and parrandas are two examples which in turn have different variants depending on the region. Then there are the crazy traditions, with origins that are harder to trace and a lot more dependent on people’s levels of superstition. One case is eating lentils on Christmas Eve to invoke prosperity. Never mind how often we already eat lentils throughout the year... Other examples include yellow underwear to attract riches, taking a suitcase out so that next year is full of traveling, or breaking out new clothes so that new experiences abound. No one actually in these things, but many will do them just in case! Nevertheless, my favorite one are the skateaways (“patinatas”), which are public celebrations carried out on the streets. Major avenues and roads are closed so that young and not-so-young kids can take over with their skateboards, bicycles and skates. It is often an occasion for kids to break out their Christmas gifts. As I watch them, I’m usually reminded of the essence of Christmas: working and fighting for children to be happy. And if we recall where Christmas is from, we wish and struggle so that children in Gaza can smile too.
Australian voters have judged Jacqui Lambie to be the nation’s most likeable federal politician, backing the Tasmanian senator ahead of major party leaders in an exclusive new survey. Lambie, an outspoken independent who often rails against the major parties, has a net likeability rating of 14 per cent and is considered one of the most recognisable people in politics. Ups and downs: Lidia Thorpe (left), Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Jacqui Lambie and Barnaby Joyce. Credit: Michael Howard But voters have ranked Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe as the least likeable in federal politics, giving her a net rating of minus 41 per cent after her protest in Parliament House during the visit of King Charles in October. Thorpe, the Indigenous firebrand who quit the Greens in early 2023 and now sits on the crossbench, has seen her rating deteriorate from minus 29 per cent one year ago. The survey, conducted for this masthead by research company Resolve Strategic, is based on questions to 1606 voters nationwide about whether they have heard of a politician and whether they have a positive, neutral, or negative view of that person. “The most striking feature of this analysis is that there is only one politician with double-digit positive net likeability,” Resolve director Jim Reed said. “There’s nobody to follow, or who inspires or gives hope right now.” Nationals senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has emerged as the second most likeable leader, with a net rating of 8 per cent, reflecting her prominence as the Coalition’s key opponent of the Indigenous Voice in last year’s referendum. She was followed by Liberal senator and former trade minister Simon Birmingham, a party moderate who has chosen to leave politics, and independent senator David Pocock, the former rugby champion who now represents the Australian Capital Territory in parliament. While voters were mildly positive about Birmingham and Pocock, giving them ratings of 7 per cent and 5 per cent respectively, they gave strongly negative views about some of the most recognisable names in politics. Voters gave an equal net rating of minus 13 per cent to two leaders on opposite ends of the political spectrum, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and Greens leader Adam Bandt. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was given a net rating of minus 17 per cent, down from minus 3 per cent one year ago, coinciding with the federal government’s slump in popular support. The prime minister’s result has worsened from his “honeymoon” net likeability of 34 per cent at the end of 2022. His result was eclipsed, however, by the net rating of minus 22 per cent for Nationals MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, although voters scaled back their dislike from his net result of minus 27 per cent last year. This meant Thorpe was almost twice as unpopular as Joyce. The findings show Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has climbed ahead of other political leaders to post a net rating of zero, better than the result of minus 12 per cent one year ago. More than a dozen politicians shared the “net zero” outcome, including deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, Nationals leader in the Senate Bridget McKenzie, Education Minister Jason Clare and Industry Minister Ed Husic. Some key members of the Coalition team emerged with positive ratings, albeit with lower levels of name recognition compared with Dutton. Voters gave shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and defence spokesman Andrew Hastie net ratings of 4 per cent. Education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson received a 2 per cent rating. The Resolve Political Monitor was conducted from December 4 to 8 and put questions to 1606 respondents selected to reflect the broader population by location, age, gender and other factors. Voters were shown a list of 60 political figures and asked whether they had a positive, neutral or negative view of each of them, generating a net likeability rating by subtracting the negative number from the positive one. “Likeability is not the same as electability – you can still be respected without it, but it helps in getting a fair hearing from voters,” said Reed. “Instead of competence, likeability is about authenticity and alignment. “Politicians such as Lambie and Price are real – raw even. You get what you see, the kind of honesty and trust that is a rare commodity in politics. “Thorpe has that to a certain extent, but most voters think she’s misaligned with their own attitudes and values.” Many of the political figures were not known to more than 30 or 40 per cent of the respondents, a key factor for independent MPs such as Kate Chaney, Helen Haines and Monique Ryan. The most recognisable politician with a positive rating was Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who was known to 89 per cent of voters and gained a net likeability result of 2 per cent. Wong led the list one year ago with net likeability of 14 per cent. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek was given a net rating of minus 5 per cent in the December survey, after a year of criticism from the Greens over decisions to approve some gas and coal projects and the Senate’s objections to her draft law to set up Environment Protection Australia. Her net likeability was 3 per cent one year ago. Treasurer Jim Chalmers was known to 71 per cent of respondents and had a net rating of minus 7 per cent, a decline from a zero rating one year ago during a period when voters reported increasing anxiety about the cost of living. The treasurer had a positive rating of 11 per cent at the end of 2022. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter .A Utah County Revamps Grant Management With Euna Software
MundusImages/E+ via Getty Images Introduction Got some spare cash? According to current trends, plenty of people may soon answer this question with a very convincing “YES!” According to a recent report from Cerulli Associates, no less than $124 trillion will be Test Drive iREIT© on Alpha For FREE (for 2 Weeks) Join iREIT on Alpha today to get the most in-depth research that includes REITs, mREITs, Preferreds, BDCs, MLPs, ETFs, and other income alternatives. 438 testimonials and most are 5 stars. Nothing to lose with our FREE 2-week trial . And this offer includes a 2-Week FREE TRIAL plus Brad Thomas' FREE book . Leo Nelissen is an analyst focusing on major economic developments related to supply chains, infrastructure, and commodities. He is a contributing author for iREIT®+HOYA Capital . As a member of the iREIT®+HOYA Capital team, Leo aims to provide insightful analysis and actionable investment ideas, with a particular emphasis on dividend growth opportunities. Learn More . Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CME either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.HELSINKI Turkish tech startups gathered to meet investors and innovation enthusiasts at this week’s Slush 2024 startup conference in Helsinki, Finland. Participants from more than 100 countries, including 400 from Türkiye, attended the event to represent their countries. The Turkish startup ecosystem demonstrated their competence to investors from all around the world in competitions to find opportunities to reach new markets and customers, attract investments, and develop business partnerships with international tech firms. More than 24 Turkish tech startups were present, including Apra Engineering, Archi's Academy, Bilbordia, From Your Eyes, Hardal, Hiwell, Invamar, Kfobi, Kimola, Mirai Technology, MOVE ON, Pardon, SmartIR, STAGE, Techsign, Tedaarik, Theclio, Tiplay, Wastespresso, Yuppy Games, Newky, Craftgate, and WASK. Turkish startups at the event introduced their products in artificial intelligence (AI), smart fabrics, fintech, video games and gaming technologies, education, digital health, sports, software, finance, and robotics. Thoufeeque Saheer, the founder of Archi’s Academy, told Anadolu that he had always wanted to establish a startup in a subject he knows and share his experience and knowledge with others. Saheer worked in software engineering in the US and moved to Türkiye in 2018 after marrying a Turkish person. Saheer said Türkiye offers many opportunities as a country with a young population. He said young people in Türkiye lack practical experience to get a job after getting a degree but his company’s education can help them with practical experience. His company is looking to expand to Europe and the US, as well as other regions down the line, he said. Rahsan Ilkay Yorulmaz, the founder of Arpa Engineering, told Anadolu that the firm installs smart systems in production stages, as well as creating “virtual engineers.” “We provide pioneering solutions in industry and we are quite ahead,” he said. Merve Aydiner, the founder of Invamar, which produces data-collecting smart fabric products, told Anadolu that the firm works on smart textiles which can read people’s health data at all times to monitor their ailments, and that the firm is showcasing its wares to the European market for the first time at the event. Aydiner said Invamar aims to become a unicorn in half a decade, meaning a startup worth $1 billion. Ali Ozan Ozcicek, founder of the online therapy platform Hiwell, told Anadolu that the firm came to the event to meet global investors as it aims to be one of the largest health technology firms in Europe in the next five years. Ozcicek said they offer psychotherapy services in eight countries via 1,500 psychologists, and the firm aims to add doctors to the platform in the days ahead. Hakan Erdogan, co-founder and CEO of the fintech startup Craftgate, told Anadolu that the firm’s goal is to meet other startups and investors at the event as they are expanding abroad for the first time by opening a branch in Spain, and want to expand to Latin America and Europe in the long term. Erdogan said Türkiye’s young population contains a lot of talent, urging young people to establish their own startups, especially in fintech. Slush 2024 started on Wednesday and ends on Thursday. *Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul
Victor Wembanyama plays 1-on-1 chess with fans in New YorkNew York Red Bulls faces Orlando City SC in the MLS Eastern Finals on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, (11/30/24) at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida How to watch: Fans can watch on Apple TV+ , via a subscription to the MLS Season Pass. Here’s what you need to know: What: MLS Eastern Finals Who: New York Red Bulls vs. Orlando City CS When: Nov. 30, 2024 Time: 7:30 p.m. ET Where: Inter&Co Stadium TV: N/A Live stream: Apple TV+ Here’s a recent AP story on MLS: FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Luis Suarez is going to play alongside Lionel Messi for at least one more year. Suarez and Inter Miami have agreed on a one-year contract extension for the coming season, the team announced Wednesday. The financial terms weren’t disclosed. Suarez made $1.5 million this year in his first Inter Miami season, one in which the Uruguayan striker scored 20 goals — tied with Messi for the team lead — in Major League Soccer regular season play and a team-best 25 goals across all competitions. “I’m very happy, very excited to continue for another year and to be able to enjoy being here with this fanbase, which for us is like family,” Suarez said in comments distributed by the team. “We feel very, very connected with them, and hopefully, next year, we can bring them even more joy.” Inter Miami set MLS records for points (74) and winning percentage (.765) during this MLS regular season, one in which the club went 22-4-8 and captured the Supporters Shield. The club failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs, falling to Atlanta United in the best-of-three series. The contract extension for Suarez, who turns 38 in January, keeps the Inter Miami core of stars with Barcelona ties together. Suarez plays at Inter Miami alongside Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, a group that teamed up with the powerhouse Spanish club in past years. And newly named Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano — his hiring was made official on Tuesday — also played with that foursome at Barcelona. RECOMMENDED • nj .com Orlando City vs. Atlanta United LIVE STREAM (11/24/24): Watch MLS semifinals online | Time, TV, channel for p Nov. 24, 2024, 1:30 p.m. 2024 NCAA DI men’s soccer tournament quarterfinals TV schedule: live streams, bracket, channels for every game Nov. 30, 2024, 7:00 a.m. “In 2024, Luis brought to Inter Miami all of the elements that make him one of the greatest strikers of all time,” Inter Miami football operations president Raul Sanllehi said. “He performed at an elite level for us, and we’re excited to see that continue next season. Luis was not only our leading scorer this season, but also a leader for the group. His impact cannot be understated.” Suarez has represented Uruguay in the last four World Cup competitions. He’s played for Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, among other clubs, and has earned a slew of honors — Dutch player of the year, FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball, Premier League Player of the Season and World Cup All-Star Team among them. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust.
Nail Care Products Market to Grow by USD 5.96 Billion (2023-2028), Segmented by Product, Channel, and Geography, with AI-Powered Market Evolution - Technavio(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Wendy Pearlman , Northwestern University (THE CONVERSATION) Millions of Syrians are feeling hope for the first time in years. The authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad fell on Dec. 8, 2024, after a 12-day rebel offensive. Most commentaries on this stunning reversal of a conflict seemingly frozen since 2020 emphasize shifts in geopolitics and balance of power. Some analysts trace how Assad’s main backers – Iran, Hezbollah and Russia – became too weakened or preoccupied to come to his aid as in the past. Other commentators consider how rebels prepared and professionalized , while the regime decayed , leading to the latter’s collapse. These factors help explain the speed and timing of the collapse of one of the Middle East’s longest and most brutal dictatorships . But these factors should not overshadow the human significance of Assad’s overthrow. Assad’s fall in its revolutionary context During the past two weeks, Syrians have rejoiced as symbols of Assad domination came down and the revolutionary flag went up. They held their breath as rebels freed captives from the regime’s notorious prisons . They shed tears as displaced people returned and families reunited after years of separation. And then, finally, Syrians around the world poured into the streets to celebrate the end of 54 years of tyranny. To appreciate the magnitude of this achievement requires historical context, one that I have documented in two books based on interviews with more than 500 Syrian refugees over the past 12 years. My first book begins with stories of the suffocating repression, surveillance and indignities that characterized everyday life in the single-party security state that Hafez al-Assad established in 1970 , and his son Bashar inherited in the year 2000. It conveys tentative optimism as uprisings spread across the Arab world in 2011, blooming into exhilaration when millions of Syrians broke the barrier of fear and risked their lives to demand political change. Syrians described participating in protest as the first time they breathed or felt like a citizen. One man told me that it was better than his wedding day. A woman referred to it as the first time she ever heard her own voice. “And I told myself that I would never let anyone steal my voice again,” she added. It was not only the feeling of freedom that was unprecedented but also the feelings of solidarity as strangers worked together, of pride as people cultivated the talents and capacities necessary to sustain revolution, and, most of all, of hope that Syrians could reclaim their country and determine their own fate. “We started to get to know each other,” an activist recalled of those heady days. “People discovered that they were photographers or journalists or filmmakers. We were changing something not just in Syria but also within ourselves.” Hope eclipsed by despair From their start in March 2011, nonviolent demonstrations met with merciless repression. That July, oppositionists and military defectors announced the formation of a “Free Syrian Army” to defend protesters and fight the regime. As this and other armed groups pushed the regime from large swaths of territory, new forms of grassroots organization and local governance emerged, indicating what society could accomplish if permitted the chance. Still, as years passed, hope became eclipsed by despair. The people I met described their despair witnessing the regime escalate bombardment, starvation sieges and other war crimes to reconquer areas from opposition control. Despair when Assad killed 1,400 people in a 2013 chemical attack , violating the United States’ purported “ red line ” but escaping accountability. Despair as hundreds of thousands of people disappeared into regime dungeons, condemned to a fate of torture worse than death. Despair as the number killed in Syria climbed by hundreds of thousands, and in 2014 the United Nations gave up counting more. Despair as over half the population was forced to flee their homes, and the word “Syria” became stuck, in minds around the world, to the words “ refugee crisis .” And then there was the despair as an entity called the Islamic State announced itself in 2013 and trampled on Syrians’ democratic aspirations in a newly horrific way. “We don’t know where any of this is leading,” a rebel officer told me at that time. “All we know is that we’re everyone else’s killing field.” Searching for home With the help of external allies and the rest of the world’s inaction, Assad clawed back about 60% of the country by 2020 and penned the opposition in an enclave in the northwest. Syria dropped from the headlines, even as regime bombing continued to kill civilians, economic meltdown plunged 90% of the population below the poverty line and the regime rotted into a narco state sustained by drug trafficking. A woman I met during these years of stalemate summarized things bleakly: “The most important thing at this stage is to protect the last bit of hope that people have left.” Meanwhile, millions of Syrian refugees , the lion’s share of them in the countries neighboring Syria, suffered poverty, legal precariousness and local populations who increasingly demanded their deportation . The stories that I recorded gradually came to center on a different theme, which I made the focus of my second book : home. For those compelled to flee, the word “home” connoted twin challenges: First, creating new lives where they might never have imagined stepping foot; and second, mourning old homes lost, destroyed or emptied of loved ones. Many described the agony of reconciling their attachment to Syria with the sense that they were unlikely to see it again. “You try as hard as you can to forget the homeland, but you can’t because it’s even more painful to be without any homeland at all,” a man lamented. Finding home in refuge, in other words, was not only a matter of integration. It also meant finding a way to move forward when the hope for freedom in Syria, it seemed, could not. This is why it is awe-inspiring to witness hope surge again. As I messaged Syrian friends and interlocutors this week, I was struck by how their jubilation echoed with stories that I used to record about 2011, but now on an even more astonishing scale. Again and again, people said that their emotions were “indescribable” and “beyond words.” That they were simultaneously “laughing and crying.” That they “just couldn’t believe” that it – the it that they once did not dare voice out loud – finally happened. Since Assad’s fall, many foreign governments and analysts have voiced foreboding warnings about the future. They need not; Syrians know better than anyone that the path ahead will not be easy. For now, however, the role of those watching from afar is not to doubt, critique or speculate, but to honor this triumph of human hope. Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous famously said in 1996, “We are doomed by hope, and what happens today cannot be the end of history.” Those who refused to give up over the long years of violence, oppression and disappointment were right. Syrian history is just beginning. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/syrians-in-a-triumph-of-hope-turn-the-page-on-the-horrors-of-assad-245640 . Get any of our free daily email newsletters — news headlines, opinion, e-edition, obituaries and more.
Jensen Huang has been obsessive in creating Nvidia By PATRICK TOOHER Updated: 16:51 EST, 28 December 2024 e-mail View comments Sunday should be a day of rest for even the most hard-charging boss. Not for Jensen Huang. As the weekend draws to a close, the man who built microchip designer Nvidia into one the world's most valuable companies likes nothing better than to pour himself a glass of Highland Park – the Scotch whisky favoured by Sir Winston Churchill – and start catching up on hundreds of emails. Remarkably, Huang will reply to every one of them. That's because these aren't just any old emails. Sent from employees at every level of the company, each contains just five bullet points – called Top 5 Things, or T5Ts. They explain what staff are working on, thinking about or have noticed about the business. Topics can range from the latest machine-learning trends in artificial intelligence – Nvidia dominates the market for advanced chips that drive the AI revolution – to competitor insights or customer pinch points. The pithy emails – and his equally concise replies – are a vital way for Huang to keep tabs on what is going on inside Nvidia. They also ensure he's getting key information from the coalface that might otherwise evade him. It's a unique management style that sets Huang apart from his peers. His unconventional approach is 'the exact opposite' of what is considered best practice in most of the rest of corporate America, says Tae Kim, author of a new book, The Nvidia Way. As companies get bigger, they tend to adopt ever-steeper hierarchies. Managers are detached from staff and increasingly rely on formal status updates from underlings to take the pulse of a company. Workaholic: Nvidia boss Jensen Huang But these reports are often filtered of anything controversial, including current problems, potential roadblocks and personnel issues. The danger is that they become sanitised to the point of being almost useless by the time they reach the key decision-makers. Huang's 'flat' communication approach scraps all that. The T5Ts mean Huang can combat 'inertia and groupthink', says Kim. Another of his secrets is his preference for whiteboards to present ideas rather than PowerPoint presentations. The idea is that with a whiteboard, you simply write your thoughts for colleagues to see with just a blank board and a marker, which means your thinking must be rigorous and transparent. With a PowerPoint slide presentation, it is easier to hide a dearth of thought behind slick graphics and impressively formatted slides, so audiences often accept them uncritically. 'These operational principles have allowed Nvidia to move quickly to take advantage of new opportunities,' Kim says, adding that they give staff 'powerful weapons in the constant struggle for accuracy and rigour'. Founded in a Silicon Valley diner three decades ago, Nvidia is the stock market success story of this century. Since floating in the US on the eve of the millennium, it has come from nowhere to become one of the world's most valuable companies. It joined iPhone maker Apple and software giant Microsoft this year as one of only three companies in the world worth more than $3 trillion (£2.4 trillion). Huge demand for its high-end chips has fuelled the company's astonishing rise. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Where to put YOUR money in 2025: Our share guru reveals her... Nvidia sees value drop £80bn as Chinese regulators probe... Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account Nvidia's shares are the best-performing on the S&P index of leading US companies over the past decade and Huang himself is now worth more than $100 billion. Experts say Nvidia's stunning success could not have been achieved without Huang at the wheel. 'I have never met anyone quite like Jensen,' says Kim, a writer at US business magazine Barron's. 'In the field of graphics he is a pioneer. In the harsh technology market, he is a survivor.' Only three other chief executives in the S&P 500 – including legendary investor Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway – have been at the helm of their companies longer than Huang, he notes. Huang, 61, has also lasted longer at his company than Bill Gates did at Microsoft or Jeff Bezos at Amazon. Chips with everything: Nvidia shares are up 175 per cent this year 'He challenges the division of the executive world between those CEO-founders who are technically oriented but naive in the world of business and those who are business-minded operators but who have no technical acumen,' Kim notes. 'You would go to a meeting and he would know more about the product than you,' Ali Simnad, a former employee, told Kim. 'In every meeting we attended he was probably the most prepared person,' he added. His workaholic ethos is rooted in his engineering background. It gives him what Kim calls a 'seemingly limitless capacity' for toil. For Huang, a strong work ethic trumps intelligence. 'It doesn't matter how smart you are because there is always someone smarter than you,' Huang once said. 'Your competition doesn't go to sleep.' One executive told Kim that Nvidia isn't a 24/7 company but a 25/8 one. 'I'm not kidding,' she said. 'I wake up at 4.30am and I'm on the phone until 10pm,' she added. 'It's my choice. It's not for everybody.' Staff hate it when Huang goes on a rare holiday because he tends to sit in a hotel and write more emails. When he goes to the cinema he never remembers the film because he spends the entire time thinking about work. 'There's not a day goes by I don't work. If I'm not working I'm thinking about working. Working is relaxing for me,' he told an investment bank podcast in 2023. When US TV show Sixty Minutes asked him about employees who said working for him was demanding, and that he was a perfectionist and not easy to work for, he simply agreed. On sale: The Nvidia Way is written by Tae Kim 'One thing I learned pretty quickly is if you got an email from him, you acted on it,' says former executive Michael Douglas. 'Nothing stays. Nothing festers. You answer and move on it,' added former human resources head John McSorley. Huang often responds to emails within minutes of receiving them, and employees have learned to time their T5Ts strategically. Don't send it late on a Friday evening, a former employee told Kim. 'It would wreck your weekend.' Most employees send their T5T emails late on Sunday night – just as Huang settles down with his single-malt Scotch. It means they can act on his feedback at the start of the working week. Not surprisingly, a fan club bordering on a personality cult has built up around Huang, whose trademark leather jacket sets him apart from the buttoned-down boardroom elite. 'In many ways, he is Nvidia and the company is Jensen,' Kim adds. Of course, that raises the risk of what would happen to Nvidia if he and the company parted ways – for whatever reason. Investors will be relieved that he shows no sign of slowing down on the emails. The Nvidia Way is written by Tae Kim and published by WW Norton & Co. Its hardcover edition is available priced at £25. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS AJ Bell AJ Bell Easy investing and ready-made portfolios Learn More Learn More Hargreaves Lansdown Hargreaves Lansdown Free fund dealing and investment ideas Learn More Learn More interactive investor interactive investor Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month Learn More Learn More Saxo Saxo Get £200 back in trading fees Learn More Learn More Trading 212 Trading 212 Free dealing and no account fee Learn More Learn More Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Compare the best investing account for you Share or comment on this article: Jensen Huang has been obsessive in creating Nvidia e-mail Add comment Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.Bumrah's Five-Wicket Blitz Puts India on Top in PerthMohamed Salah’s landmark goal pulls Liverpool clear in Champions League